


Kind

by Kahlan_20



Series: The Hero and the Inquisitor [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Gen, has a heart to heart with Leliana, honestly I just wanted to write about my Warden, inquisitor is overwhelmed, inquisitor meets the warden, prequel thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-06-05 22:30:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6726025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kahlan_20/pseuds/Kahlan_20
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I keep hearing stories about her. When I pass through towns. A lot of people tell me I’m a lot like her, but I don’t know what that even means. Or if they really knew her – you were actually there for a lot of it.”</p>
<p>The Inquisitor is overwhelmed. Leliana helps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kind

Leliana found her in one of the highest reaches of Skyhold, sitting on the floor with her head against the open window.

“You’ll suffocate up here, you know. All this dust.” Leliana waved a hand to prove her point. The grey air shifted around.

Mira laughed quietly. “It’s good. The dust, I mean. Means no one else will be up here.”

Leliana hummed in agreement, picking her way over to the open window and sitting on the other side. The window showed the open courtyard, showed all the people who had made the migration to Skyhold integrating together peacefully.

“Can I ask you what the Hero of Fereldon is like?” Mira broke the silence. Leliana graced her with an arched eyebrow.

“What would you want to know.”

“I keep hearing stories about her. When I pass through towns. A lot of people tell me I’m a lot like her, but I don’t know what that even means. Or if they really knew her – you were actually there for a lot of it.”

Leliana mused over the answer for several long moments, before starting one of her own. “The Hero of Fereldon, Warden-Commander Tabris, I would consider among my closest friends. Which is why I know she would be comfortable with me telling you this.

“She very much preferred to be called Tabris. Kahlia, if you were in her ‘inner circle.’ Warden Alistair,” here Leliana gave a wry grin, “called her every pet-name in the book. She protested, and blushed, and liked it more than she would ever say.

“She was of elven decent, born in the alienage in Denerim. She was beautiful, like all elves. She was short, with long limbs. Long black hair – she would pick up different braiding styles from the various places we visited. I’ll admit, we used to have some fun braiding it all up at night. She was also very pale, Denerim tends to not get a lot of sun.

“She was a bit on the thin side – apparently, at times it was hard to get food into the alienage. She put on muscle as we were traveling, she had be, to waving around a pair of swords over half as tall as she was!

“She was also much younger than you are now at the time of blight. She was arranged to be married right before the blight started, and elves tend to marry young, at 16 and 17 usually. Hopefully, into a better life. When a good offer comes by, their parents don’t ignore it until the children are more mature.

“She was much louder than you – chatty. She kept up a constant stream of talk, and constantly bounced around topics, it was damn near impossible to get her to focus – unless you told her she couldn’t do something. Sometimes I think the only reason we won against the archdemon was because too many people told her we couldn’t win.

“Her lack of focus showed in her fighting. She was erratic, very hard to predict, which made her a terrifying opponent. If you ever meet Zevran, you’ll have to ask him about the trap he set for her, he tells it much better than I do. Apparently, he gathered thirty fighters: archers, warriors, a few mages, and ambushed her while she was by herself. And she defeated all of them. Came back to camp and went to sleep right after, with Zevran on her heels.

“That was another thing: She was so kind, always going out of her way. When he complained, she told Oghren it didn’t cost anything to be kind. She once convinced a revered mother to give her to key to a qunari’s cell, let him out, and he joined our rag-tag team.

“The thing a lot of people don’t realize is being a Grey Warden in a time of blight – it messes with you. I can’t relate, nor can I explain it well, but she had a connection with the darkspawn, and it was very active. She was losing a lot of sleep, becoming more paranoid. But she tried so very hard to not let it affect us, to remain cheerful and kind.

“I haven’t seen her in years, now. But we exchanged letters up until – until the Grey Wardens went missing. Letters aren’t as good as the real thing, but I hope she hasn’t changed all that much. I don’t think I could bear it if she hardened her heart. I know, that’s hypocritical coming from me,” Leliana snorted, ignoring Mira’s soft protests, “But then, she’s always been able to ignite that kind of hope. Similar to you.

“I guess my short answer is – you two are very alike, and very different. But neither one of those is a bad thing, for sure.” Leliana stood, dust swirling. “I need to get back to work. You know where to find me.”

She descended the ladder, her last view of the Inquisitor was of Mira, horns leaning against the window, head bowed in thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah the first time I played Origins I was an idiot and traveling somewhere I knew my companions weren't needed so I didn't take them because whateverrrrr and then I got stopped for Zevran's trap which fuckkkkk and it took me 3 tries but I beat his entire ambush with just my Warden.


End file.
